CD Reviews

Solid transitional album from UCP before becoming SOOL

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 04/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album won't please everyone. In fact, it would probably please UCP fans the least as the prototypical Stooges swagger is missing. Produced by Steve Albini, Swing is the most conventional rock record that UCP made. The album before this pointed the way with singer Lundberg's shift of interest to Love, psychedelic rock and The Beatles. It's probably stylistically the least like UCP and a bit more like The Soundtrack of Our Lives first album. It's not a watershed album but, instead, more of a trickle indicating where Lundberg would eventually end up with The Soundtrack of Our Lives.As with any transitional albums there are tracks worth keeping and some that are an utter waste of time. When Lunberg reappeared with some of his compatriots here as The Soundtrack of Our Lves in 1995, the musical direction of UCP towards the end of their musical career became apparent. Hardly retro though there are enough elements of the past included to make it an interesting mix, Swing isn't a total success because the songwriting is far more ordinary and lacking the bite of Lundberg's trio of albums that followed as Soundtrack.I'd recommend Swing for fans of Soundtrack that want to find out a bit more about the band's roots. It's not as catchy or as powerful as Welcome to The Infant Freebase, but it has enough worthwhile moments for hardcore Soundtrack fans. If you've stumbled on this review after purchasing Behind The Music for the first time, I'd recommend Soundtrack's first three full length albums first (or if you can find them their EPs)prior to venturing down this road."